Escape Hub: The Laughing Lair | Review

Escape Hub: The Laughing Lair Review | Locked away in ‘The Laughing Lair’, you have been given the chance to escape, but you will have to work together to get out before he changes his mind. Can you escape this villain’s lair?

Completion Time: 52 minutes
Date Played: 2018
Party Size: 3
Difficulty: Medium

Escape Hub is located within the Royal Star Arcade on Maidstone High Street. Conveniently situated in the town centre, easy to get to yet a real hidden gem.

Occupying much of the upper floor of the shopping arcade, Escape Hub’s large glass frontage gives a great first impression. It comfortable seating area and friendly staff put you right at ease. For the competitive escape room players among you, the reception area also sports a leader board for each of the room – so time to get your competitive juices flowing before the game!

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We’ve always found that all members of the Escape Hub team are very welcoming, and it’s clearly evident that they care a lot about their customer’s needs. Players will be escorted to the entrance of their room, and from here the friendly host will give you a quick briefing on what is about to begin.

In our case that was…

Creepy Clowns & Funfair Lights!

I can fully understand people’s worry when I say it’s a “clown and funfair” themed escape room – I know a lot of people who suffer from coulrophobia (phobias of clowns). By contrast, one of the many joys of The Laughing Lair escape room is that you don’t need to worry about them!

The theme of The Laughing Lair is that you and your team have been captured by a clown-like villain, but after waiting in it’s lair long enough, you finally see an opportunity to escape. The villain will be returning to it’s lair within an hour… Giving you and your team just 60 minutes to solve all the puzzles and escape!

Clues are delivered via a speaker system by your Games Master, who is on hand for any hints should you need them!

Team Work Makes the Dream Work

I would suggest that my overriding hint for this whole room for all players would be “TEAM WORK”. Particularly at the start of the game team work and communication are vital. It’s worth mentioning that The Laughing Lair is a room that starts unlike any other and it’s brilliant!

Overall, a hugely enjoyable room and every moment of your experience sticks to the funfair theme. Players can expect a combination of fast-paced puzzles, logic riddles, and physical challenges, all mixed together to form this masterpiece of a room! Fans of padlocks will also be pleasantly surprised in this experience, as there was quite a few to be grappled with. Players will be provided with a torch to get them started, but from there it’s all up to you to escape with your wits!

The sense of tension, brought on by such a strong theme *shudders*, is fantastic. It all adds up to a very eerie feel.

This room is a must for all!

The Laughing Lair can be booked at Escape Hub by heading to their website here.